I held his tiny hand in mine. He looked so small and vulnerable. "Is it going to be all right, Daddy?" he implored, squeezing my fingers as tightly as he was able. "Oh, Daddy, is it going to be all right?" "Yes, darling," I assured my little boy. "It's going to be all right." His little fingers relaxed their grip. A single tear escaped and trickled down his cheek. He essayed a faint smile, closed his eyes, and went to sleep.

Arthur Milward's pen traces hauntingly poignant stories of his emotionally traumatic childhood, his young son's battle with leukemia, a Nazi officer's unexpected anguish, a 6-year-old's abandonment by her parents, and others caught in the frailty and cruelty of life on this sin-stained planet.

Yet accompanying every sorrow is a thread of hope. Our heavenly Father has assured us that in the end everything will be all right there will be no more crying or pain, no more death or mourning (see Revelation 21:4). In the meantime, though, His promises soothe our aching